Housing: Low Incomes

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the take-up was of each category of Homebuy scheme in each county and region in each year the scheme has been available; and what the total value was of homes produced.

Caroline Flint: The following tables show the number of homes provided through each category of HomeBuy scheme by region and county or unitary authority from April 2006 to 31 January 2008.
	
		
			  Region  Social HomeBuy  Open Market HomeBuy  New Build HomeBuy/Shared ownership 
			 North East 9 8 153 
			 North West 27 184 1,122 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 18 110 545 
			 East Midlands 5 106 1,269 
			 West Midlands 6 250 1,288 
			 East 1 577 2,128 
			 London 70 1,361 6,022 
			 South East 16 1,531 4,311 
			 South West 1 332 1,586 
			 Total 153 4,459 18,424 
		
	
	
		
			  County or unitary authority  Social HomeBuy  Open Market HomeBuy  New Build HomeBuy/Shared ownership 
			 City of Derby (B) 0 5 59 
			 City of Leicester (B) 1 22 121 
			 City of Nottingham (B) 0 7 24 
			 Derbyshire County 0 10 136 
			 Leicestershire County 0 21 168 
			 Lincolnshire County 0 12 221 
			 Northamptonshire County 4 20 464 
			 Nottinghamshire County 0 9 68 
			 Rutland 0 0 8 
			 Bedfordshire County 0 54 114 
			 Cambridgeshire County 0 74 393 
			 City of Peterborough (B) 0 7 64 
			 Essex County 0 144 326 
			 Hertfordshire County 1 110 713 
			 Luton (B) 0 28 0 
			 Norfolk County 0 89 148 
			 Southend-on-Sea (B) 0 15 12 
			 Suffolk County 0 51 321 
			 Thurrock (B) 0 5 37 
			 Greater London Authority 70 1,361 6,022 
			 Darlington (B) 0 0 25 
			 Durham County 1 2 10 
			 Gateshead District (B) 0 0 40 
			 Hartlepool (B) 0 0 0 
			 Middlesbrough (B) 4 0 27 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne District (B) 0 4 23 
			 North Tyneside District (B) 0 1 10 
			 Northumberland County 0 1 2 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 1 0 0 
			 South Tyneside District (B) 3 0 0 
			 Stockton-on-Tees (B) 0 0 16 
			 Sunderland District (B) 0 0 0 
			 Blackburn with Darwen (B) 0 1 45 
			 Blackpool (B) 0 3 55 
			 Bolton District (B) 0 5 71 
			 Bury District (B) 0 5 0 
			 Cheshire County 0 15 156 
			 Cumbria County 0 15 49 
			 Halton (B) 0 2 43 
			 Lancashire County 5 22 163 
			 Liverpool District (B) 0 41 234 
			 Manchester District (B) 13 44 25 
			 Oldham District (B) 0 0 25 
			 Rochdale District (B) 0 2 0 
			 Salford District (B) 0 5 22 
			 Sefton District (B) 9 0 91 
			 St. Helens District (B) 0 0 33 
			 Stockport District (B) 0 18 8 
			 Tameside (B) 0 1 0 
			 Trafford District (B) 0 2 64 
			 Warrington (B) 0 0 9 
			 Wigan District (B) 0 3 0 
			 Wirral District (B) 0 0 29 
			 Bracknell Forest (B) 0 25 30 
			 Buckinghamshire County 0 74 201 
			 City of Portsmouth (B) 0 0 169 
			 City of Southampton (B) 0 0 196 
			 East Sussex County 2 38 91 
			 Hampshire County 7 477 720 
			 Isle of Wight 0 0 72 
			 Kent County 0 150 619 
			 Medway (B) 0 33 97 
			 Milton Keynes (B) 0 29 351 
			 Oxfordshire County 0 123 272 
			 Reading (B) 0 45 201 
			 Slough (B) 0 25 26 
			 Surrey County 1 285 606 
			 The City of Brighton and Hove (B) 1 51 207 
			 West Berkshire 0 16 96 
			 West Sussex County 5 107 284 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead (B) 0 33 30 
			 Wokingham 0 20 43 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 0 12 46 
			 Bournemouth (B) 0 22 13 
			 City of Bristol (B) 0 28 121 
			 City of Plymouth (B) 1 14 93 
			 Cornwall County 0 26 170 
			 Devon County 0 42 179 
			 Dorset County 0 32 48 
			 Gloucestershire County 0 51 223 
			 North Somerset 0 8 68 
			 Poole (B) 0 9 81 
			 Somerset County 0 27 125 
			 South Gloucestershire 0 19 41 
			 Swindon (B) 0 9 199 
			 Torbay (B) 0 0 38 
			 Wiltshire County 0 33 141 
			 Birmingham District (B) 2 47 473 
			 City of Stoke-on-Trent (B) 0 4 42 
			 City of Wolverhampton District (B) 0 10 33 
			 County of Herefordshire 0 29 18 
			 Coventry District (B) 2 8 34 
			 Dudley District (B) 0 10 55 
			 Sandwell District (B) 0 6 32 
			 Shropshire County 0 1 31 
			 Solihull District (B) 0 7 57 
			 Staffordshire County 0 9 137 
			 Telford and Wrekin 2 3 0 
			 Walsall District (B) 0 4 123 
			 Warwickshire County 0 13 177 
			 Worcestershire County 0 99 76 
			 Barnsley District (B) 0 1 22 
			 Bradford District (B) 5 7 44 
			 Calderdale District (B) 0 1 60 
			 City of Kingston Upon Hull (B) 6 0 14 
			 Doncaster District (B) 0 4 0 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 0 7 11 
			 Kirklees District (B) 0 4 37 
			 Leeds District (B) 4 20 138 
			 North East Lincolnshire (B) 0 0 40 
			 North Lincolnshire (B) 0 0 13 
			 North Yorkshire County 0 35 43 
			 Rotherham District (B) 0 3 4 
			 Sheffield District (B) 1 4 40 
			 Wakefield District (B) 1 4 74 
			 York (B) 1 20 5 
			 Total 153 4,459 18,424 
			  Source: Housing Corporation Investment Management System and includes Local Authority Social HomeBuy completions 
		
	
	The Continuous Recording System data for 2006-07 shows (based on returns from registered social landlords and local authorities) the total market value of homes sold under Social HomeBuy, Open Market HomeBuy and new build HomeBuy/Shared Ownership was £1,628 million.

Lichfield District Council: Local Government Finance

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent by Lichfield district council in each of the last four financial years; and what revenue the council received from  (a) Government grants,  (b) (i) council tax and (ii) non-domestic rates,  (c) the sale of assets and  (d) other sources in each of those years.

John Healey: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £000 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Revenue expenditure 11,600 10,753 12,353 12,603 
			  Financed by 
			 Government grants 3,131 3,113 3,709 2,713 
			 Redistributed non-domestic rates 3,253 2,538 2,711 4,853 
			 Council tax 4,770 5,128 5,413 5,817 
			 Other 446 -26 520 -780 
			  
			 Capital expenditure 5,759 5,833 5,187 4,253 
			  Financed by 
			 Central Government grants 689 617 709 338 
			 Use of capital receipts 0 4,577 2,299 2,993 
			 Other 5,070 639 2,179 922 
			  
			 Capital receipts in year 3,554 1,255 857 1,110 
			  Source: Communities and local government revenue and capital outturn returns 
		
	
	Revenue figures are produced on a non financial reporting standard 17 (FRS17) basis.
	Government grants within revenue expenditure are defined here as the sum of revenue support grant and specific grants inside aggregate external finance (AEF), i.e. revenue grants paid for council's core services.
	Other within revenue expenditure includes: transfers and adjustments; appropriations to/from revenue reserves; collection fund surpluses/deficits; and community charge amounts transferred to/from collection fund.
	Local authority council tax requirement is the council tax available to finance revenue expenditure, not council tax collected.
	Revenue figures exclude grants outside AEF (i.e. where funding is not for authorities' core services, but is passed to a third party, for example, rent allowances and rebates), capital grants, funding for the local authorities' housing management responsibilities and those grant programmes (such as European funding) where authorities are simply one of the recipients of funding paid towards an area.
	Comparisons across years may not be valid owing to changing local authority responsibilities.

Local Authorities: Debt Collection

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance has been issued to local authorities on the use of bailiffs to collect civil debts owned by residents to them.

Parmjit Dhanda: No such guidance has been issued by Communities and Local Government. On 18 March 2008, the Ministry of Justice published its response to the consultation paper "Regulation of Enforcement Agents". The response recommended that bailiffs in England and Wales should be regulated by one body, the Security Industry Authority. The consultation paper and the response are available on the Ministry of Justice's website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/cp0207.htm

Social Rented Housing: Construction

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many social rented properties the Housing Corporation plans to build in the 2006 to 2008 financial period; how many bids it has received for this period; what steps it is taking to encourage further bids; and in which areas fewer bids have been received than are required.

Iain Wright: Over the period 2006-08 we set the Housing Corporation targets to deliver an additional 49,000 social rented homes and 35,000 low cost home ownership homes. These homes will be provided through both new investment during the two years and through commitments already within the Housing Corporation's affordable housing programme.
	During the 2006-08 bidding round, the Housing Corporation received bids totalling £8 billion for 160,000 units. They made allocations of over £4 billion to schemes to provide 97,000 homes, some of which will not be delivered until after 2008. During the course of the programme some schemes will be subject to delay. Under the terms of their partnership agreements with the Housing Corporation, housing associations and other developers are obliged to offer replacement schemes in these circumstances. In addition, as part of the Corporation's normal in year management of their programme, bids for deliverable schemes can be submitted at any time. This helps to ensure that national targets are met and resources committed.

Blood Transfusion Services

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria are used to assess a geographical area as having a poor level of blood collection as outlined in the review of the National Blood Service Strategy.

Dawn Primarolo: The review team, consisting of NHS Blood and Transplant, and supported by McKinsey and Co. used two criteria to assess the level of blood collection performance in a geographical area: donor penetration and donation frequency. Donor penetration is measured by the percentage of blood donors in the eligible population. Donor frequency is measured by the number of times donors give blood in a given period.

Childbirth

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the survival rate of children born at 22 to 25 weeks gestation was in the UK in the most recent period for which figures are available; how many were  (a) born alive and  (b) still-born; how many subsequently (i) survived and (ii) died; when his Department last undertook an evidence review on the issue that drew on (A) UK and (B) international research; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The information requested is shown in the following tables. We have commissioned the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit (NPEU) to take forward a programme of systematic reviews of the research evidence to identify and promote the key interventions that are most likely to contribute to meeting our target for infant mortality. The topics are likely to include the major medical causes of infant mortality (pre-term birth, congenital anomalies and sudden unexplained death in infancy) as well as generic health interventions.
	
		
			  Live births and infant deaths by gestational age at birth: babies born in England and Wales, 2005 
			   Births (number)  Deaths (number)  Rates per 1,000 live births (percentage) 
			  Gestational age (weeks)  Live births  Under 7 days  Between 7 and 28 days  28 days and over but under 1 year  Deaths under 1 year  Under 7 days  Between 7 and 28 days  28 days and over but under one year  Deaths under 1 year 
			 All 645,887 1,695 544 961 3,200 2.6 0.8 1.5 5.0 
			   
			 22 152 140 3 1 144 921.1 19.7 6.6 947.4 
			 23 283 198 34 7 239 699.6 120.1 24.7 844.5 
			 24 474 168 65 43 276 354.4 137.1 90.7 582.3 
			 25 499 95 43 38 176 190.4 86.2 76.2 352.7 
		
	
	
		
			  Stillbirths by gestational age at birth: England and Wales, 2005 
			  Gestational age (weeks)  Number 
			 24 291 
			 25 230 
			  Notes: 1. The tables show figures for gestational ages 22 to 25 weeks for live births, deaths under seven days of age), deaths between seven and 28 days old, deaths at 28 days and over but under one year and deaths under one year old for babies born in 2005 in England and Wales (the latest year for which figures are available). Data are not available by gestational age at birth on survival beyond one year. 2. The tables includes figures for stillbirths at gestational ages 24 and 25 weeks as a stillbirth is defined as a baby born dead after 24 completed weeks gestation.  Source: Office for National Statistics

Dietary Supplements

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 20 February 2008,  Official Report, column 804W, on dietary supplements, how many nutritional support products were dispensed in the community in each year since 1997, broken down by primary care trust area; and what estimate he has made of the number of individual patients who required nutritional support items in the community in the last year for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: Information on the number of nutritional support products dispensed in the community by primary care trust from 2003 to 2006 has been placed in the Library. Data for earlier years is not available. The Department has made no estimate of the number of individual patients requiring such items.

Doctors: Torbay

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many junior doctors were registered in Torbay constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: This information is not held in the format requested. Information is held for national health service organisations.
	There are no doctors in training and equivalents within Torbay Care Trust. However, the following table shows doctors in training and equivalents by grade within South Devon Health Care NHS Trust. The latest available data is for September 2006.
	
		
			  Hospital and community health services: medical and dental doctors in training and equivalents within South Devon Health Care NHS Trust (as at 30 September 2006) 
			   Number 
			 Doctors in training and equivalents 173 
			 Registrar Group 52 
			 Senior House Officer 68 
			 Foundation Year 2 27 
			 House Officer and Foundation Year 1 26 
			  Notes:  1. Junior doctors are now referred to as doctors in training and equivalents.  2. Doctors in training and equivalents is the term used to refer to people in the registrar group, senior house officers and other staff in equivalent grades who are not in an educationally approved post.  3. All doctors are registered doctors. The doctors within Foundation Year 2, Senior House Officer and the Registrar Group have full registration status. Some House Officer and Foundation 1 Year staff will have a full registration, although the majority of these staff will have provisional registration status.   Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census.

Fertility: Health Services

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to  (a) monitor and  (b) encourage the implementation of National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines on the assessment and treatment of people with fertility problems; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department has recently carried out a survey of in vitro fertilisation provision and will publish the results in due course.
	We are working with the patient support organisation Infertility Network UK to help primary care trusts (PCTs) share best practice in the provision of fertility services and move to the implementation of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence recommendations. To build on the progress being made we are establishing an expert group to advise the project and consider how to help PCT commissioners.
	The Department will be monitoring IVF provision across the national health service on an on-going basis to see where further assistance may be needed.

Infectious Diseases: Disease Control

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to reduce the spread of healthcare-associated infections in the community.

Ann Keen: Health care associated infections (HCAIs) are infections acquired in hospitals or as a result of health care interventions. "Clean, Safe Care" is a comprehensive strategy to tackle HCAIs and improve cleanliness, published on 9 January 2008. The strategy draws together recent HCAI initiatives and details new areas that national health service organisations need to consider when developing local plans to tackle infections and improve cleanliness. It emphasises the importance of a whole health economy approach as infection control strategies are only going to be successful if all parts of the NHS work closely together with the shared aim of reducing infection. The Department's improvement team is supporting primary care trusts (PCTs), as well as acute trusts, in developing a whole systems approach to the reduction in HCAIs. Our approach to setting the latest public service agreement target for  Clostridium difficile supports this whole health economy approach, as local targets will be set at PCTs level as a rate per 10,000 population.
	The Department has produced a focused programme to support the NHS and the independent sector in tackling HCAIs in non-acute settings, including care homes and hospices. "Essential steps to safe, clean care" was launched in June 2006 and revised and re-launched in June 2007. It includes a strategy for local health economies and tools and guidance on areas such as movement of patients between organisations, managing meticillin-resistant  Staphylococcus aureus in the non-acute setting, preventing the spread of infection, urinary catheter care and enteral feeding. We have disseminated this guidance widely and will continue to revise and update the guidance in line with emerging best practice.
	Other initiatives include:
	the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) piloting the extension of the clean your hands campaign into primary and community care;
	the NPSA published "The National Specifications for Cleanliness in the NHS" for hospitals in 2007 and is currently in the process of producing national specifications for a variety of other health care settings such as general practitioner surgeries, health centres and clinics, and ambulances. The document is due to be launched in summer 2008;
	benchmarks for the care environment concerns the environment within which the care of patients takes place. It is intended for all staff groups caring for patients across all organisations and settings, including patients' homes. It includes benchmarks for best practice for a clean environment, and for in infection control;
	as part of the £270 million comprehensive spending review investment into tackling HCAIs and improving cleanliness, £45 million was identified for investment in additional staff. It is for local organisations to decide the best investment to meet their needs, but this level of funding could, for example, deliver additional infection control nurses in every community in addition to specialist staff in acute trusts; and
	proposals in the Health and Social Care Bill mean that the "Code of Practice for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections" is expected to apply to care homes and non-NHS providers in the future.

NHS: ICT

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect on the timetable of the NHS IT programme of the buy out of iSoft by IBA Healthcare.

Ben Bradshaw: The purchase of iSoft by IBA has not adversely impacted on the delivery time scales for the Lorenzo solution to the national health service. Computer Sciences Corporation, the local service provider are responsible for the management of their sub-contractors, and the delivering of the NHS Care Record Service solution in accordance with their contractual obligations. There has been no timetable changes attributable to the transfer of ownership from iSoft to IBA.

NHS: Manpower

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what expenditure on non-NHS staff was  (a) in total and  (b) broken down by each NHS organisation in each year since 1997-98; and what proportion of the NHS pay bill this represented in each case.

Ann Keen: The information requested has been placed in the Library. Data by organisation is shown for 2000-01 onwards.

Patient Choice Schemes

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many deployments of the web based referrer for choose and book have been made, broken down by  (a) local service provider and  (b) practice;
	(2)  how many deployments of the general practitioner system for choose and book have been made, broken down by  (a) local service provider and  (b) practice;
	(3)  how many deployments of patient administration systems for choose and book have been made, broken down by  (a) local service provider and  (b) trust.

Ben Bradshaw: The percentage of general practitioner (GP) practices that are technically live with choose and book is 98 per cent., that is the percentage of practices that have the technical ability to make electronic bookings. GP practices accessing choose and book through an integrated GP system amount to 84 per cent. with many using the web-based referrer as an alternative. The web-based referrer is not deployed to local service providers or practices, but is available to all referring organisations with web access. Out of 169 trusts with patient administration systems (PASs), 144 are technically live with a compliant PAS which represents 85 per cent. of all acute trusts. Figures are not available by local service provider.

Pharmacy

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many 100 hour pharmacies there were in each primary care trust area in each of the last three years.

Dawn Primarolo: We do not collect data on the number of 100 hour pharmacies in each primary care trust.
	The only data held are for the number of applications relating to pharmaceutical services regulations (2005) under the four new exception categories, one of which is pharmacies intending to open more than 100 hours a week. It is not known how many granted applications resulted in the actual opening of a new 100 hour per week pharmacy.
	Data are available only for 2005-06 and 2006-07 and relate to applications between 1 April and 31 March each financial year. The number of applications outstanding are those outstanding at 31 March each year.
	
		
			  Decisions on applications relating to pharmaceutical services regulations, number and percentage of exempt applications decided by application type, England only, 2005-06 to 2006-07 
			   2005-06  2006-07 
			  Number of applications  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 100 Hour Pharmacies(1) 199 100 319 100 
			 Granted 156 78 259 81 
			 Refused 28 14 39 12 
			 Withdrawn 15 8 21 7 
			 Outstanding 72 — 48 — 
			 (1) Figures have been revised from last year's publication. Figures listed in the 2005-06 publication were total number of applications received not the number actually decided upon by primary care trusts. Revised figures exclude those applications which were outstanding at 31 March 2006. It is assumed that these applications were outstanding as no decision had been reached on their final outcome.   Source:  General Pharmaceutical Services in England and Wales 2006-07, this document is available on the Information Centre for health and social care website at: www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/pharmserv0607

Smoking: Public Places

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in England have been  (a) charged with and  (b) convicted of smoking tobacco in a prohibited place since the introduction of the relevant legislation; and what range of sentences has been imposed.

Dawn Primarolo: Details on smokefree legislation enforcement activity is collected from local authorities and routinely published by the Department on the Smokefree England website at www.smokefreeeng land.co.uk. The latest smokefree legislation compliance report covers the first six months of the new law being in effect, and has been placed in the Library.
	Penalties for smokefree offences are set out in the Smoke-free (Penalties and Discounted Amounts) Regulations 2007.

English Language

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people obtained English for Speakers of Other Languages qualifications at level  (a) 1,  (b) 2 and  (c) 3 in London in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: I have been asked to reply.
	The information can be provided only at disproportionate cost

Afghanistan: Opium

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate his Department has made of the volume of poppy production in Afghanistan in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Shahid Malik: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) conducts annual surveys of opium cultivation in Afghanistan. The following data is drawn from the UNODC surveys.
	
		
			   Potential total volume of opium production (Metric tonnes)  Estimated opium cultivation (Hectares)  Opium poppy as a percentage of agricultural land 
			 2007 8,200 193,000 4 
			 2006 6,100 165,000 4 
			 2005 4,100 104,000 2 
			 2004 4,200 131,000 3 
			 2003 3,600 80,000 2 
			 2002 3,400 74,000 1 
			 2001 185 8,000 (1)— 
			 2000 3,276 82,172 (1)— 
			 1999 4,565 91,983 (1)— 
			 1998 2,693 64,674 (1)— 
			 (1) Data not available.

Carbon Emissions: Finance

Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the proportion of GDP that will be spent in the UK in the 2008-09 financial year on measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Angela Eagle: The Government use a package of policy instruments to reduce emissions. Spending measures are important, but form only one element alongside, for example, regulation, fiscal measures and trading schemes. These stimulate behaviour change and investment both here and outside the UK. The Government do not make an annual estimate of the amount spent in the UK on reducing carbon dioxide emissions, though it does publish annual emissions data.
	However, modelling has been conducted for the Energy White Paper to assess the potential costs to the UK economy from meeting its long-term targets. Analysis for the 2020 target suggests that (under a hypothetical scenario and subject to appropriate caveats) acting unilaterally, UK GDP will be lower by 1.7 per cent. in 2020 compared with no action; that acting multilaterally reduces this impact to 1.3 per cent. of UK GDP in 2020; and that achieving a 30 per cent. reduction in carbon emissions would cost 0.6 per cent. of GDP in 2020 if the UK purchased abatement abroad.
	The Stern review concluded that the costs of reducing emissions to levels that avoid the worst risks of climate change are significant but manageable, whereas delay will be costly and dangerous.

Data Protection

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many security specialists and security assurance and data protection and validation officers were employed by  (a) HM Treasury,  (b) HM Revenue and Customs and  (c) other agencies in each region and county in each year since 2004.

Angela Eagle: holding answer 27 February 2008
	Security, data protection and validation responsibilities are spread over a number of different posts and no central record is maintained.
	HM Treasury, HM Revenue and Customs, and other agencies follow security advice provided by the Cabinet Office. Departmental Security Officers have responsibility for the protective security measures. And area supported by other specialist staff as appropriate. External security consultants are employed when this provides best value for money.

Departmental Sustainable Development

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when his Department plans to publish its sustainable operations policy statement.

Angela Eagle: HM Treasury published sustainable development report and action plan in August 2007. This is updated regularly as appropriate and is available on the HM Treasury website.

Excise Duties: Fuels

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on the differential between tax rates for petrol and liquefied petroleum gas; and what the duty charged on each fuel was in each of the last five years.

Angela Eagle: At pre-Budget report 2003 it was announced that the environmental benefits of LPG no longer justified the level of duty differential that it received, and that the Government would gradually increase the duty rate, setting differentials on a path towards a level commensurate with the fuels' environmental benefits.
	Historical LPG duty rates appear in the UK Trade Information hydrocarbon oils bulletin, available at:
	www.uktradeinfo.com
	The duty rate for LPG was 9p per kilogram from 2001 until December 2006, when it rose to 12.21p per kilogram, as main road fuel duties were increased in line with inflation. It was then increased to 16.49p per kilogram on 1 October 2007, when main road fuel duties rose by 2p per litre.
	Consistent with the Government's commitment to give three-year certainty on duty differentials for alternative fuels, Budget 2008 announced that differential tax rate for LPG until 2010. The differential will decrease by 1p per litre when main fuel duty rates change on each of 1 October 2008, 1 April 2009 and 1 April 2010.

Excise Duties: Fuels

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the effect of the postponement of an inflation-linked fuel duty increase on the cost of travelling by  (a) private car,  (b) bus and  (c) train in 2008-09;
	(2)  if he estimate what the effect on the real cost of motoring would have been if fuel duty had been increased in line with inflation since 1997.

Angela Eagle: The Government's policy is that fuel duty rates should rise each year at least in line with inflation as the UK seeks to reduce polluting emissions and fund public services. It is estimated that, by April 2008, fuel duty will be about the same in real terms as it was in May 1997. Therefore, fuel duty has not made a substantive impact on the real cost of motoring since 1997.
	Budget 2008 confirmed that main road fuel duty rates will rise by 1.84p per litre on 1 April 2009 and announced that they will also rise by 0.5p per litre above indexation on 1 April 2010. However, consistent with Government's stance of maintaining flexibility in responding to short-term economic conditions, Budget 2008 also announced that the planned 2p per litre increase in fuel duty due to take place on 1 April 2008 would be deferred for six months, until 1 April 2010.
	The impact of this deferral on the cost of travelling by private car will vary depending on the fuel efficiency of the car chosen, and the number of miles driven. The Government have not estimated the impact of a postponement of an inflation-linked fuel duty increase on the cost of travelling by bus or train in 2008.

Excise Duties: Fuels

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the effect on carbon dioxide emissions of the postponement of the inflation linked fuel duty increase that had been planned for 1 April;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the revenue foregone arising from the decision to postpone the planned fuel duty increase that had been planned for 1 April.

Angela Eagle: The Government's policy is that fuel duty rates should rise each year at least in line with inflation as the UK seeks to reduce polluting emissions and fund public services. Budget 2008 therefore confirmed that main road fuel duty rates will rise by 1.84p per litre on 1 April 2009 and announced that they will also rise by 0.5p per litre above indexation on 1 April 2010.
	However, consistent with Government's stance of maintaining flexibility in responding to short-term economic conditions, Budget 2008 also announced that the planned 2p per litre increase in fuel duty due to take place on 1 April 2008 would be deferred for six months, until 1 April 2010.
	The estimated revenue foregone as a result of this deferral is shown in Table A1 of the Budget document, available on the HM Treasury website.
	It is estimated that the three fuel duty increases announced at Budget 2008—for October 2008, April 2009 and April 2010—will lead to a reduction of 0.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by 2010-11. The deferral of the 2008 increase from April to October is expected to lead to an additional 0.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide being emitted in 2008-09, than would have been, had the increase gone ahead in April. However, there is no impact in subsequent years, as the rate returns to the pre-announced levels.

Northern Rock

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2008,  Official Report, column 1431W, on Northern Rock, when he expects the annual report and accounts for 2007 to be published.

Angela Eagle: Northern Rock operates on an arm's length basis from Government as a commercial entity. It publishes its audited reports and accounts on a regular basis in accordance with statutory reporting requirements.
	The publication of audited reports and accounts for 2007 will take place in due course, exactly when is a matter for the Board of Northern Rock.

Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2008,  Official Report, column 1017W, on tax credits, what the highest possible income is a family may receive while being eligible for the child care element of the working tax credit; and what child care costs this would involve.

Jane Kennedy: The income at which a family with maximum child care costs could benefit from the child care element depends on the number of children and whether the family claims the disability element for any children or adults in the family.

Taxation: Scotland

Adam Ingram: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions have taken place between  (a) his Department and  (b) HM Revenue and Customs and the Scottish Executive on HM Revenue and Customs' role in the collection of local taxes in Scotland.

Yvette Cooper: There have been no discussions between the Treasury HM Revenue and Customs and the Scottish Executive on an HM Revenue and Customs role in the collection of local taxes in Scotland.

Valuation Office: Pay

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to equalise the pay and conditions of equivalent grades of staff in the Valuation Office Agency and the Rent Service once the organisations have merged.

Jane Kennedy: The Valuation Office Agency and The Rent Service are managing the Transfer of Functions as a joint programme. As part of this, the Valuation Office Agency is undertaking a detailed review of the differences in Terms and Conditions (including pay) between the two organisations to establish a future strategy for aligning these.

Drugs: Sentencing

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were  (a) prosecuted,  (b) convicted,  (c) fined and  (d) imprisoned for dealing crystal meth in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: Data showing the number of defendants proceeded against, found guilty, fined and imprisoned for supplying or offering to supply and having possession with intent to supply amphetamines or class B drugs in England and Wales from 2002 to 2006 are in the following table.
	Prior to 18 January 2007 the possession with intent to supply and the supply of crystal meth "Methylamphetamine" were included with other class B drug offences. From that date Methylamphetamine was reclassified from a class B drug to a class A drug.
	Data for 2007 will be available in the autumn of 2008.
	
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts, found guilty, fined and imprisoned for selected offences( 1)  relating to crystal meths, England and Wales, 2002 to 2006( 2, 3) 
			   Proceeded against  Found guilty  Fined  Immediate custody 
			 2002 594 366 28 174 
			 2003 553 402 19 201 
			 2004 511 421 19 202 
			 2005 461 378 16 180 
			 2006 433 384 5 170 
			 (1) The following offences and statutes have been used: Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug (or being concerned in): Amphetamine—Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 Sec 4(3) [Class 'B' Drug]. Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug(or being concerned in): Other Class 'B'—Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 Sec 4(3) [Class 'B' Drug]. Having possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply: Amphetamine—Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 Sec 5(3) [Class 'B' Drug]. Having possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply: Other Class 'B'—Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 Sec 5(3) [Class 'B' Drug].  (2) These data are on the principal offence basis.  (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Fatal Accident Injury System

Adam Ingram: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1433W, on the fatal accident injury system, what progress has been made on discussions between his Department and the Scottish Executive on the operation of the Fatal Accident Inquiry system in Scotland as it applies to armed forces personnel based in Scotland, who are killed in action overseas.

Bridget Prentice: Contacts between the UK Government and the Scottish Executive continue on this sensitive and complex issue. The UK Government are committed to ensuring that the death of every serviceman or woman overseas is subject to an independent inquiry. It is also committed to ensuring that the needs of bereaved service families are attended to sensitively and that where possible families do not have to travel excessive distances to attend inquests, including families based in Scotland.
	My right hon. Friend will have noted the Scottish Executive's announcement on 7 March of a review by Lord Cullen of the overall working of the Fatal Accident Inquiry system which will have a bearing on this issue. In the meantime the UK Government will continue to work with coroners and families to ensure that inquests in England are held in the most appropriate place for those concerned.

Magistrates Courts: Leeds

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 11 March 2008,  Official Report, column s 12-14WS, on Leeds Magistrates' court, what the 62 offences were the results of which have been found and verified; and how many serious offences have yet to be found and verified.

Maria Eagle: The following table identifies the 62 offences where the results have been found and verified by the Inspectorate. In all of these cases the result could be found from other court records (e.g. those from the Crown court). Checks continue in relation to all outstanding offences where an adjudication is missing, including 1568 recordable offences.
	
		
			  Offence  Number 
			 Attempted robbery 1 
			 Conspiracy to rob 3 
			 Robbery 13 
			 Conspired to commit armed robbery 1 
			 Attempted murder 1 
			 Murder 1 
			 Assault - racially aggravated 1 
			 Racially aggravated threatening behaviour 3 
			 Racially aggravated threatening and abusive behaviour 1 
			 Buggery 1 
			 Gross Indecency 3 
			 Indecent assault 2 
			 Rape 1 
			 Fail to comply with Sex Offenders Act 2 
			 Concerned in supplying of cocaine 1 
			 Concerned in supplying a class A drug MDMA 1 
			 Conspired to Supply Class A Drug 5 
			 Importation of Cocaine 1 
			 Possession of cannabis resin with intent to supply 1 
			 Possess cocaine with intent to supply 2 
			 Possession of a class A drug MDMA with intent to supply 1 
			 Possession of a class B drug Amphetamine with intent to supply 1 
			 Possession of crack cocaine with intent to supply 1 
			 Possession of heroin with intent to supply 1 
			 Supply crack cocaine 1 
			 Supplying Heroin 4 
			 Detained person against their will 1 
			 False imprisonment 1 
			 Unlawful Imprisonment 2 
			 Unlawfully took person against their will 1 
			 Arson 1 
			 Attempting to pervert the course of justice 2 
			 Total 62

National Probation Service for England and Wales: Vacancies

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many vacant posts in the Probation Service he expects will not be filled in 2008-09, broken down by grade.

David Hanson: Information is not available to answer this question as staffing requirements are currently being reviewed throughout the Probation Service.
	To date, long-term workforce planning has been conducted in a limited manner within the Probation Service and has largely been undertaken in concert with the annual intake onto the Diploma in Probation Studies (DiPS), which is led by NOMS probation area co-ordination unit. Responsibility for all other recruitment and workforce planning rests with each of the individual probation areas. With the impending decision on the future of the DiPS and the development and implementation of its replacement, the process by which workforce planning will be conducted nationally and locally, is currently being reviewed in order to align it to future arrangements.

Prisons: Design

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 30 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 491W, on prisons, if he will publish the design, security and technical specifications and standards produced by the National Offender Management Service relating to the designs of  (a) existing and  (b) new prison places.

David Hanson: The design, security and technical specifications/standards for existing and new prisons are not intended for general publication and it would be impracticable to do so. There are currently over 1,000 standard and design documents of which the vast majority are detailed technical drawings. Furthermore, security could be unnecessarily compromised by general publication. If credible interested parties, including the hon. Member for Harborough, wishes to gain access to this documentation, suitable secure and controlled arrangements are already in place to facilitate such requests.

Road Traffic Offences

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many people aged under 18 were prosecuted for offences related to  (a) fatal and  (b) serious road traffic accidents in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many  (a) unlicensed and  (b) unqualified drivers were prosecuted for offences associated with (i) fatal and (ii) serious road traffic accidents in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many people unqualified to drive were prosecuted for taking and driving away motor vehicles in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: Available information held by my Department on the numbers of prosecutions for motoring offences that cause the death of, or cause bodily harm to, a person is provided in the following tables.
	Serious and fatal road traffic collisions may be the result of or associated with, some other offences, for example careless driving. However the information held centrally does not identify the circumstances of individual cases and in particular whether a fatality or serious injury occurred.
	While the Department for Transport monitors details of road traffic accidents, this information is not linked with details of any subsequent prosecutions.
	
		
			  Table A: Proceedings at magistrates courts by type of offence, and for offenders aged under 18, England and Wales, 2001 - 05 
			  Number of offences 
			  Offence type  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Causing death by dangerous driving(1) 9 27 21 20 13 
			 Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs(2) 0 1 2 0 0 
			 Causing death by aggravated vehicle taking(3) 6 10 6 7 7 
			 Causing bodily harm by furious driving(4) 9 4 8 9 4 
			 (1) Offences under the RTA 1988 s. 1 as amended by RTA 1991 s. 1 and CJA 1993 s. 67. (2) Offences under the RTA 1988 s. 3A as added by the RTA 1991 s. 3 and amended by CJA 1993 s. 67. (3 )Offences under the Theft Act 1968 s. 12A as added by Aggravated Vehicle Taking Act 1992 s. 1. (4 )Offences against the Person Act 1861 s. 35.  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Proceedings at magistrates courts by type of offence, all ages, England and Wales, 2001 - 05 
			  Number of offences 
			  Offence type  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Causing death by dangerous driving(1) 361 320 363 360 360 
			 Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs(2) 66 78 85 68 77 
			 Causing death by aggravated vehicle taking(3) 35 33 24 17 32 
			 Causing bodily harm by furious driving(4) 83 65 56 46 33 
			 (1) Offences under the RTA 1988 s. 1 as amended by RTA 1991 s. 1 and CJA 1993 s. 67. (2) Offences under the RTA 1988 s. 3A as added by the RTA 1991 s. 3 and amended by CJA 1993 s. 67. (3) Offences under the Theft Act 1968 s. 12A as added by Aggravated Vehicle Taking Act 1992 s. 1. (4) Offences against the Person Act 1861 s. 35.  Note:  Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Waste Management: Prosecutions

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice against how many people have prosecutions been brought for having unregistered scrap and salvage yards in each of the last three years.

Maria Eagle: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences in relation to the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964, in England and Wales were five in 2004, seven in 2005, and five in 2006. From information held by my Department it is not possible to separately identify prosecutions for separate offences detailed within the Act.
	These data are on the principal offence basis.
	Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
	Court proceedings data for 2007 will be available in the autumn of 2008.

Armed Forces: Manpower

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of personnel in each pinch point trade in the armed forces exceeded harmony guidelines in the latest period for which figures are available.

Derek Twigg: The information requested is shown in the following tables:
	
		
			  Royal Navy 
			  Operational pinch point trades  Percentage of current population breaching harmony 
			 Harrier GR7 Instructors None 
			 Harrier GR7 Pilots None 
			 Merlin Pilots None 
			 Merlin Observers None 
			 Merlin Aircrew None 
			 Able Seaman Warfare Specialist (Sensors Submariner) None 
			 Able Seaman Warfare Specialist (Tactical Submariner) None 
			 Strategic Weapons Systems Junior Ra None 
			 Leading Hand Warfare None 
			 Able Seaman Diver None 
			 Royal Marines Other Ranks None 
			 Sea King and Lynx Avionics Supervisor None 
			 Lead Hand Aircraft Controllers None 
			 Petty Officer Mine Warfare None 
			 Nuclear Watchkeepers None 
			  Note:  The figure for separated service reflects the percentage of personnel within that trade that has completed more than 140 days separated service in the last 12 month rolling period. The RN delivers Individual Harmony through a number of micro managed processes to ensure that the Individual Harmony Guidelines are met. 
		
	
	
		
			  Army 
			  Operational pinch point trades  Percentage of current population breaching harmony 
			 Infantryman Pte-LCpl 10.7 
			 Vehicle Mechanic Pte-Cpl 33.5 
			 Armourer Pte-Cpl 26.9 
			 Recovery Mechanic LCpl-Cpl 31.2 
			 Operational Military Intelligence Cpl-Sgt 8.6 
			 Clerk of Works SSqt-WO1 17.1 
			 Military Engineer Fitter Spr-LCpl 14 
			 Royal Artillery Gunner LBdr-Bdr (1)— 
			 (1 )Currently not available.   Note:  The figure for separated service reflects the percentage of personnel within that trade that has completed more than 415 days separated service in the last 30 month rolling period. There are a number of recruitment and retention incentives that specifically targeted at pinch point groups. Individuals are micro managed by the Arms and Services Directors in order to maintain operational capability and Individual Harmony. Each Service has a Pinch Point Working Group and there is a quarterly Pinch Point Working Group that aims to deliver best practice across the Services. 
		
	
	
		
			  RAF 
			  Operational pinch point  Percentage of current population breaching harmony 
			 Medical 3.1 
			 Operations Support (Intelligence) 20.2 
			 Operations Support (RRAF Regt) 18.5 
			 Operations Support (Provost/Security) 11.7 
			 Operations Support (Flight Ops) 12.1 
			 Princess Mary's RAF Nursing Service 8.1 
			 Weapons Systems Operator (Air Load Master) 4.7 
			 Weapon Systems Operator (Linguist) 4.3 
			 Air Traffic Controller/ Flight Operations Manager and Flight Operations Assistant 2.7/6.2 
			 Firefighter 21.2 
			 Gunner 25.3 
			 Movements Operator 11.1 
			 MT Tech 14.5 
			 RAF Police 14.2 
			 Staff Nurse (RGN) A&E A & E 9.3 
			  Note:  The figure for separated service reflects the percentage of personnel within that trade that has completed more than 140 days separated service in the last 12 month rolling period. As with the RN and the Army, pinch point trades are micro managed with the emphasis on retention and then recruiting. Specific measures are targeted at each group.

Armed Forces: Manpower

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what percentage of the total  (a) strength and  (b) requirement of (i) regular army officers and (ii) regular army other ranks was made up by the recruitment of British nationals in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what percentage of the total  (a) strength and  (b) requirement of regular army (i) officers and (ii) other ranks was made up by the recruitment of citizens of Commonwealth countries in each year since 1997;
	(3)  how many  (a) officers and  (b) other ranks of British nationality were recruited to the Regular Army in each year since 1997;
	(4)  how many  (a) officers and  (b) other ranks were recruited from Commonwealth countries to the Regular Army in each year since 1997.

Bob Ainsworth: The following tables show the strength of officers and soldiers with UK and Commonwealth nationalities as a proportion of the total strength and requirement for each financial year since 1997. Also provided is the intake of UK and Commonwealth officers and soldiers against the total intake for each financial year since 1997.
	
		
			  Regular Army UK and Commonwealth officer strength rates against average officer strength and requirements from 1 April 1997 to 28 February 2007 
			  P ercentage 
			  Against average strength  UK  Commonwealth 
			 1997-98 97.8 1.3 
			 1998-99 97.8 1.3 
			 1999-2000 97.8 1.3 
			 2000-01 97.7 1.4 
			 2001-02 97.6 1.5 
			 2002-03 97.6 1.5 
			 2003-04 97.5 1.6 
			 2004-05 97.4 1.8 
			 2005-06 97.3 1.9 
			 2006-07(1) 97.2 2.0 
		
	
	
		
			  P ercentage 
			  Against Requirements  UK  Commonwealth 
			 1997-98 98.3 1.3 
			 1998-99 97.0 1.3 
			 1999-2000 97.4 1.3 
			 2000-01 94.9 1.4 
			 2001-02 92.8 1.4 
			 2002-03 94.3 1.5 
			 2003-04 95.9 1.6 
			 2004-05 97.8 1.8 
			 2005-06 97.3 1.9 
			 2006-07(1) 101.2 2.0 
		
	
	
		
			  Regular Army UK and Commonwealth Officer intake against total regular Army officer intake from 1 April 1997 to 28 February 2007 
			   Total Intake  UK  Commonwealth (excluding UK) 
			 1997-98 990 960 20 
			 1998-99 800 760 20 
			 1999-2000 1,130 1,080 40 
			 2000-01 930 890 30 
			 2001-02 890 850 30 
			 2002-03 980 920 50 
			 2003-04 940 900 40 
			 2004-05 790 750 30 
			 2005-06 820 780 20 
			 2006-07(1) 820 790 10 
		
	
	
		
			  Regular Army UK and Commonwealth soldier strength rates against average soldier strengths and requirements from 1 April 1997 to 28 February 2007 
			  P ercentage 
			  Against average strengths  UK  Commonwealth 
			 1997-98 99.2 0.4 
			 1998-99 99.1 0.5 
			 1999-2000 99.1 0.5 
			 2000-01 98.8 0.8 
			 2001-02 98.2 1.3 
			 2002-03 97.3 2.3 
			 2003-04 95.7 3.9 
			 2004-05 94.0 5.6 
			 2005-06 92.9 6.6 
			 2006-07(1) 92.2 6.7 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage 
			  Against requirements  UK  Commonweal th 
			 1997-98 93.1 0.4 
			 1998-99 92.6 0.4 
			 1999-2000 92.5 0.5 
			 2000-01 91.8 0.7 
			 2001-02 90.3 1.2 
			 2002-03 90.1 2.1 
			 2003-04 90.7 3.7 
			 2004-05 90.1 5.3 
			 2005-06 89.7 6.4 
			 2006-07(1) 88.6 6.4 
		
	
	
		
			  Regular Army UK and Commonwealth soldier intake against total regular Army soldier intake from 1 April 1997 to 28 February 2007 
			   Total intake  UK  Commonwealth (excluding UK) 
			 1997-98 14,510 14,370 60 
			 1998-99 16,300 16,070 160 
			 1999-2000 15,480 14,940 470 
			 2000-01 13,910 13,130 730 
			 2001-02 14,040 12,870 1,140 
			 2002-03 15,720 13,710 1,960 
			 2003-04 14,320 12,670 1,580 
			 2004-05 10,940 9,840 1,000 
			 2004-05 790 750 30 
			 2005-06 820 780 20 
			 2006-07(1) 820 790 10 
		
	
	
		
			  Regular Army UK and Commonwealth soldier strength rates against average soldier strengths and requirements from 1 April 1997 to 28 February 2007 
			  P ercentage 
			  Against average strengths  UK  Commonwealth 
			 1997-98 99.2 0.4 
			 1998-99 99.1 0.5 
			 1999-00 99.1 0.5 
			 2000-01 98.8 0.8 
			 2001-02 98.2 1.3 
			 2002-03 97.3 2.3 
			 2003-04 95.7 3.9 
			 2004-05 94.0 5.6 
			 2005-06 92.9 6.6 
			 2006-07(1) 92.2 6.7 
		
	
	
		
			  P ercentage 
			  Against requirements  UK  Commonwealth 
			 1997-98 93.1 0.4 
			 1998-99 92.6 0.4 
			 1999-2000 92.5 0.5 
			 2000-01 91.8 0.7 
			 2001-02 90.3 1.2 
			 2002-03 90.1 2.1 
			 2003-04 90.7 3.7 
			 2004-05 90.1 5.3 
			 2005-06 89.7 6.4 
			 2006-07(1) 88.6 6.4 
		
	
	
		
			  Regular Army UK and Commonwealth soldier intake against total regular Army soldier intake from 1 April 1997 to 28 February 2007 
			   Total Intake  UK  Commonwealth (excl. UK) 
			 1997-98 14,510 14,370 60 
			 1998-99 16,300 16,070 160 
			 1999-2000 15,480 14,940 470 
			 2000-01 13,910 13,130 730 
			 2001-02 14,040 12,870 1,140 
			 2001-03 15,720 13,710 1,960 
			 2003-04 14,320 12,670 1,580 
			 2004-05 10,940 9,840 1,000 
			 2005-06 11,920 11,130 710 
			 2006-07(1) 11,900 11,090 720 
			 (1) 11 months data, due to the ongoing validation of the new joint personnel administration system Army flows data is not available from 1 April 2007.   Notes: 1. UK and Commonwealth strengths data are taken as a yearly average.  2. Strength percentages against requirements may be greater or less than 100 per cent. due to over-and/or under-manning (i.e. strength exceeding requirement).  3. The intake figures include re-enlistments and rejoined reservists.  4. Total intake also includes UK dependencies, Eire and other nationalities.  5. All data have been rounded to the nearest 10. Numbers ending in '5' have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to avoid systematic bias.

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what methodology her Department uses to assess levels of  (a) underage drinking and  (b) drug use by young people.

Vernon Coaker: The survey 'Drug use, smoking and drinking among young people in England' is used to assess levels of  (a) underage drinking and  (b) drug use by young people. This is an annual survey which is conducted by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) and the National Foundation for Educational Research (NRER) on behalf of the Information Centre for health and social care (IC). The survey is widely regarded as the best source of national data on drinking among schoolchildren in England. Information for the 2006 survey was obtained from 8,200 pupils in 288 schools throughout England in the autumn term of 2006. The data was collected by researchers using self-completion questionnaires administered to children in their classroom under 'exam conditions'.

Animal Experiments

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on EC Directive 86/609/EEC, with particular reference to the use of apes for experimental and other scientific purposes.

Meg Hillier: holding answer 13 March 2008
	The objectives of the Government during the review of European Directive 86/609 on animal experimentation will be to ensure efficient and effective regulation that properly balances the protection of animals against the legitimate needs of science and industry. We do not believe that wholesale changes to the Directive are necessary to achieve the main benefits sought of harmonisation and animal welfare. We believe that the Directive has stood the test of time well and still provides a sound framework for regulation.
	We feel that the current revision of the Directive should aim to improve the regulation of animal use by focusing on key areas where regulation and harmonisation would improve animal welfare, improve scientific outputs, provide a more level playing field within the EU and improve the EU's competitiveness with other economic regions without compromising science and welfare.
	The vast majority of primates used in scientific procedures regulated by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in the UK are marmosets and macaques. Then Home Secretary Jack Straw said in 1997:
	"Great Apes (chimpanzees, gorillas, pygmy gorillas and orang-utans) have never been used under the 1986 act as laboratory animals. But this has not previously been banned. The Government will not allow their use in the future. This is a matter of morality. The cognitive and behavioural characteristics and qualities of these animals mean it is unethical to treat them as expendable for research."
	There are no plans to change this policy.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: South Yorkshire

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued in  (a) Barnsley East and Mexborough constituency,  (b) Barnsley metropolitan borough and (c) Doncaster metropolitan borough since their inception;
	(2)  how many acceptable behaviour contracts have been issued in  (a) Barnsley East and Mexborough constituency,  (b) Barnsley metropolitan borough and (c) Doncaster metropolitan borough since their inception.

Vernon Coaker: Antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) became available from 1 April 1999. The number of ASBOs issued to the end of 2005 (latest available) where the prohibitions specify locations within the Barnsley metropolitan borough council and Doncaster metropolitan borough council areas are 74 and 61 respectively. Data collected centrally on ASBOs issued are not available at parliamentary constituency level.
	Acceptable behaviour contracts (ABCs) are voluntary agreements and therefore not suitable for central data collection. However, surveys carried out by the Home Office of the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) indicated that over 25,000 ABCs have been made in England and Wales since October 2003.

Genetics: Databases

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of irregularities on the national DNA database.

Meg Hillier: A number of procedures carried out by police forces, forensic suppliers and the National DNA Database (NDNAD) Custodian's staff are in place to ensure that information is recorded as accurately as possible on the NDNAD. These procedures are designed to ensure as far as possible that errors are not included on the database in the first place, rather than removing them once they are on.
	If any irregular record comes to the notice of the NDNAD Custodian and his staff, the record is suspended on the Database pending an investigation—the outcome of which is that the record may be re-instated unchanged, amended, or deleted.

Arts: Public Expenditure

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what expenditure on publicly-funded arts and culture was in 2007, broken down by constituency.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 14 March 2008
	 Arts Council England's grant in aid revenue funding for 2007-08, broken down by constituency, is set out in the table. The arts and culture sectors, which among others include museums, heritage and film organisations, also receive funding from the DCMS, money distributed by the national lottery and funding from local authorities. Figures for these are not centrally collated.
	
		
			  Constituency  Total  (£) 
			 Amber Valley 88,610 
			 Ashford 61,006 
			 Banbury 45,164 
			 Barking 40,000 
			 Barnsley Central 22,850 
			 Barnsley West and Penistone 20,000 
			 Barrow and Furness 394,700 
			 Basingstoke 290,804 
			 Bath 472,961 
			 Battersea 1,395,163 
			 Berwick-upon-Tweed 391,235 
			 Bethnal Green and Bow 5,395,079 
			 Beverley and Holderness 20,000 
			 Bexhill and Battle 523,880 
			 Birmingham Erdington 80,715 
			 Birmingham Ladywood 7,843,472 
			 Birmingham Perry Barr 148,862 
			 Birmingham Selly Oak 1,141,111 
			 Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath 156,488 
			 Bishop Auckland 35,222 
			 Blackburn 107,000 
			 Blyth Valley 22,363 
			 Bolsover 118,380 
			 Bolton North Eat 571,300 
			 Bournemouth West 167,517 
			 Bracknell 216,006 
			 Bradford North 143,850 
			 Bradford West 351,590 
			 Brent East 859,841 
			 Brent North 31,050 
			 Brent South 122,825 
			 Brentford and Isleworth 2,732,184 
			 Brentwood and Ongar 56,039 
			 Brigg and Goole 20,000 
			 Brighton Kemptown 116,518 
			 Brighton Pavilion 2,063,178 
			 Bristol East 311,881 
			 Bristol South 68,624 
			 Bristol West 3,192,118 
			 Burnley 226,200 
			 Bury North 73,200 
			 Bury St. Edmonds 288,844 
			 Calder Valley 20,000 
			 Calder Valley 33,780 
			 Camberwell and Peckham 379,888 
			 Cambridge 1,389,682 
			 Cambridgeshire North East 100,297 
			 Canterbury 201,614 
			 Charnwood 49,361 
			 Cheltenham 547,762 
			 Chester 348,300 
			 Chesterfield 24,445 
			 Chichester 1,578,356 
			 Chingford and Wood Green 40,000 
			 Cities of London and Westminster 10,207,345 
			 City of Durham 71,727 
			 City of York 966,390 
			 Cleethorpes 21,120 
			 Colchester 1,280,090 
			 Colne Valley 125,050 
			 Copeland 41,100 
			 Corby 30,000 
			 Coventry South 1,722,974 
			 Croydon Central 215,111 
			 Darlington 408,370 
			 Derby North 621,400 
			 Derby South 767,756 
			 Derbyshire South 52,900 
			 Dewsbury 25,020 
			 Doncaster Central 73,910 
			 Dorset North 52,788 
			 Dorset West 63,345 
			 Dudley South 26,394 
			 Dulwich and West Norwood 47,430 
			 Durham North 40,000 
			 Durham North West 20,953 
			 Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush 1,124,643 
			 Easington 25,483 
			 East Yorkshire 40,000 
			 Eastbourne 175,000 
			 Eastleigh 52,533 
			 Eddisbury 87,400 
			 Edinburgh East 28,505 
			 Edmonton 30,000 
			 Ellesmere Port and Neston 142,600 
			 Erith and Thamesmead 100,000 
			 Exeter 1,014,363 
			 Falmouth and Cambourne 203,444 
			 Finchley and Golders Green 354,899 
			 Folkestone and Hythe 74,581 
			 Forest of Dean 47,509 
			 Gainsborough 47,330 
			 Gloucester 139,571 
			 Grantham and Stamford 60,980 
			 Great Grimsby 46,240 
			 Greenwich and Woolwich 493,935 
			 Guildford 436,026 
			 Hackney North and Stoke Newington 120,270 
			 Hackney South and Shoreditch 4,693,355 
			 Halifax 512,300 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 2,153,913 
			 Hampstead and Highgate 1,997,238 
			 Harrogate and Knaresborough 428,890 
			 Harrow East 118,271 
			 Harrow West 51,796 
			 Hartlepool 39,019 
			 Hastings and Rye 27,450 
			 Hayes and Harlington 42,621 
			 Hemel Hempstead 24,969 
			 Hendon 65,946 
			 Hereford 252,477 
			 Hexham 449,500 
			 Heywood and Middleton 50,500 
			 High Peak 238,170 
			 Holborn and St. Pancras 5,880,930 
			 Hornchurch 343,121 
			 Hornsey and Wood Green 217,480 
			 Hove 105,576 
			 Huddersfield 601,920 
			 Ipswich 1,322,171 
			 Isle of Wight 79,616 
			 Islington North 1,930,883 
			 Islington South and Finsbury 13,465,970 
			 Keighley 80,850 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 3,054,498 
			 Kingston upon Hull and West Hessle 542,800 
			 Kingston upon Hull North 67,670 
			 Kingswood 105,576 
			 Lancaster and Wyre 1,111,000 
			 Leeds Central 3,256,250 
			 Leeds North East 353,210 
			 Leeds North West 2,723,470 
			 Leeds West 248,200 
			 Leicester East 115,825 
			 Leicester South 2,401,425 
			 Leominster 43,286 
			 Lewes 1,480,120 
			 Lewisham Deptford 937,477 
			 Lewisham West 26,394 
			 Lichfield 33,276 
			 Lincoln 282,994 
			 Liverpool Riverside 7,292,500 
			 Loughborough 169,532 
			 Louth and Horncastle 44,370 
			 Ludlow 246,884 
			 Luton South 464,248 
			 Maidenhead 133,104 
			 Maidstone and The Weald 99,136 
			 Manchester Central 8,338,976 
			 Manchester Gorton 128100 
			 Manchester Withington 102,000 
			 Medway 24,957 
			 Middlesbrough 234636 
			 Middlesbrough South and Cleveland East 21,013 
			 Milton Keynes North East 84,557 
			 Montgomeryshire 208,120 
			 Morecambe and Lunesdale 53,600 
			 New Forest West 275,664 
			 Newark 33,090 
			 Newbury 310,621 
			 Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central 2,927,177 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend 218,432 
			 Newcastle-under-Lyme 946,915 
			 North Devon 52,788 
			 North Dorset 54,108 
			 North Durham 10,609 
			 North East Hertfordshire 27,080 
			 North East Milton Keynes 371,690 
			 North Shropshire 43,286 
			 North Southwark and Bermondsey 6,596,076 
			 North Thanet 64,334 
			 North West Cambridgeshire 24,958 
			 North West Durham 21,218 
			 North West Leicestershire 52,900 
			 North West Norfolk 21,115 
			 Northampton South 738,905 
			 Norwich South 854,894 
			 Nottingham East 108,715 
			 Nottingham North 319,605 
			 Nottingham South 2,669,186 
			 Oldham East and Saddleworth 472,700 
			 Oldham West and Royton 75,100 
			 Oxford East 1,394,053 
			 Oxford West and Abingdon 389,133 
			 Penrith and the Border 162,900 
			 Peterborough 25,009 
			 Plymouth Devonport 65,457 
			 Plymouth Sutton 4,222,882 
			 Poole 339,080 
			 Poplar and Canning Town 340,475 
			 Portsmouth South 259,840 
			 Preston 101,900 
			 Pudsey 105,020 
			 Putney 174,200 
			 Redcar 29,742 
			 Regent's Park and Kensington North 1,057,645 
			 Richmond 94,550 
			 Richmond Park 361,828 
			 Rochdale 188,600 
			 Rochford and Southend East 75,974 
			 Rossendale and Darwen 155,900 
			 Rushcliffe 79,492 
			 Ryedale 282,545 
			 Salford 1,161,700 
			 Salisbury 1,266,246 
			 Scarborough and Whitby 708,990 
			 Scunthorpe 21,120 
			 Sheffield Central 21,120 
			 Sheffield Brightside 20,000 
			 Sheffield Central 2,400,020 
			 Sheffield Heeley 20,000 
			 Shipley 20,000 
			 Shrewsbury and Atcham 229,211 
			 Skipton and Ripon 20,590 
			 Sleaford and North Hykeham 281,920 
			 Slough 123,345 
			 Somerton and Frome 39,063 
			 South Cambridgeshire 99,015 
			 South Holland and The Deepings 52,280 
			 South Norfolk 160,678 
			 South Shields 123,450 
			 South West Surrey 67,568 
			 Southampton Itchen 297,760 
			 Southampton Test 924,294 
			 Southport 23,900 
			 St. Albans 262,183 
			 St. Helen's South 78,900 
			 St. Ives 208,000 
			 Stockton North 575,000 
			 Stockton South 65,400 
			 Stoke on Trent North 68,624 
			 Stoke on Trent South 27,729 
			 Stratford on Avon 32,465 
			 Streatham 169,716 
			 Stroud 226,988 
			 Suffolk Coastal 1,231,598 
			 Sunderland North 333,073 
			 Surrey South West 77,060 
			 Swindon South 367,271 
			 Taunton 190,036 
			 Teignbridge 84,255 
			 Telford 32,465 
			 Tewkesbury 52,788 
			 Thanet North 400,000 
			 Tiverton and Honiton 27,054 
			 Tooting 639,129 
			 Torridge and West Devon 187,171 
			 Totnes 633,454 
			 Tottenham 39,767 
			 Truro and St. Austell 521,409 
			 Tunbridge Wells 77,644 
			 Twickenham 22,849 
			 Tyne Bridge 7,387,741 
			 Vale of York 50,570 
			 Vauxhall 7,785,376 
			 Wakefield 1,327,400 
			 Walsall South 848,531 
			 Walthamstow 104,099 
			 Wansbeck 46,647 
			 Warwick and Leamington 337,050 
			 Watford 717,651 
			 Weaver Vale 27,200 
			 Wellingborough 41,200 
			 Wells 26,394 
			 Welwyn Hatfield 170,494 
			 West Bromwich East 198,482 
			 West Bromwich West 73,106 
			 West Chelmsford 93,874 
			 West Derbyshire 317,521 
			 West Dorset 112,966 
			 West Ham 1,110,753 
			 West Worcestershire 55,460 
			 Westbury 52,788 
			 Westmorland and Lonsdale 561,710 
			 Wiltshire North 42,380 
			 Wimbledon 565,000 
			 Winchester 364,981 
			 Wolverhampton South West 161,583 
			 Witney 66,394 
			 Woking 44,368 
			 Wolverhampton South East 85,410 
			 Wolverhampton South West 94,202 
			 Worcester 172,488 
			 Workington 436,700 
			 Wycombe 22,184 
			 Wyre Forest 62,064 
			 Wythenshawe and Sale East 20,600 
			 Yeovil 228,019 
			 Not attributed to a specific constituency (see notes) 132,524,701 
			 Grand total 324,721,712 
			  Notes: A number of the Arts Council's regular funding investments are not allocated to a constituency. 1. Investment sums that were not allocated to a specific organisation. These are funds that had been allocated to a specific art form or geographic location (such as Somerset or Cornwall), but where the exact organisation or combination of organisations that will deliver the work are still to be decided. 2. Organisations where the Arts Council's annual investment is above £5 million. The audiences for these organisations come from multiple constituencies, and the economic and artistic impact of these organisations likewise reaches far beyond a single constituency. Many are publicly regarded as "national" organisations. 3. Local authorities. Arts Council's investment in local authorities has an impact across a number of constituencies within each local authority area.

Dance

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he plans to publish the report of his Department's dance review led by Tony Hall.

Margaret Hodge: Tony Hall's Dance Review was published on 17 March 2008. In response to the Review, Government announced that an investment of £5.5 million would be made to Youth Dance England to improve dance opportunities both in and beyond schools.
	Government also committed to establishing six new centres of advanced training for exceptionally talented young people and to piloting dance co-ordinators within the school sport infrastructure to ensure high quality access for all children and young people. Leadership will come in the form of a new Government Dance Review Programme Board which will be tasked with taking forward the recommendations from the Review.

Rugby

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many  (a) men and  (b) women have started playing rugby under the Go Play! scheme which his Department funds in each of the last three years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The 'Go Play Rugby' programme is an initiative of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) to recruit adult players.
	Since its launch in July 2007, the scheme has successfully recruited over 9,000 new players of which approximately 840 are female.

Children: Population

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children  (a) under 12,  (b) under 10 and  (c) under seven years were living in the UK in each year since 1997, broken down by region; and what forecast he has made of the numbers in each group living in the UK in each year to 2011, broken down by region.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 25 March 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question regarding how many children (a) under 12, (b) under 10 and (c) under seven years were living in the UK in each year since 1997, broken down by region; and what forecast have been made of the numbers in each group living in the UK in each year to 2011, broken down by region. (176689)
	Table 1 shows population estimates for the requested age groups for each Government Office Region within England and for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for the years 1997-2006. The latest population estimates available are for mid-2006.
	Table 2 shows the latest (2006-based) national population projections for the requested age groups for the UK and constituent countries for the years 2007-2011.
	Table 3 shows the 2004-based subnational population projections for the requested age groups for each Government Office Region within England for the years 2007-2011. Please note that they are not directly comparable with the latest (2006-based) national projections. 2006-based subnational projections are due to be published in June 2008.
	
		
			  Table 1: Mid-year population estimates by UK country and government office region, 1997-2006 
			  Thousand 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			  (a) Children aged 0-11 
			 United Kingdom 9,096 9,058 9,010 8,904 8,787 8,679 8,578 8,505 8,464 8,445 
			
			 England 7,583 7,561 7,531 7,450 7,356 7,271 7,192 7,136 7,107 7,096 
			 North-east 395 388 380 373 366 359 352 345 341 338 
			 North-West 1,085 1,073 1,059 1,041 1,023 1,004 987 972 962 956 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 785 779 771 759 749 738 727 720 716 712 
			 East midlands 636 633 632 625 618 612 604 599 595 593 
			 West midlands 843 838 831 820 808 797 786 779 776 773 
			 East 814 816 820 815 807 801 797 794 793 792 
			 London 1,129 1,138 1,133 1,123 1,109 1,102 1,098 1,095 1,101 1,110 
			 South-east 1,196 1,197 1,204 1,197 1,187 1,175 1,165 1,159 1,155 1,155 
			 South-west 700 700 701 696 690 682 677 672 669 666 
			
			 Wales 448 445 441 436 431 424 418 413 408 405 
			 Scotland 757 748 738 724 711 698 685 677 671 666 
			 Northern Ireland 307 304 300 295 290 286 282 279 278 278 
			
			  (b) Children aged 0-9 
			 United Kingdom 7,583 7,516 7,457 7,355 7,217 7,103 7,036 6,999 6,984 6,986 
			
			 England 6,332 6,282 6,239 6,158 6,045 5,956 5,906 5,880 5,871 5,877 
			 North-east 326 319 313 306 298 290 285 281 279 278 
			 North-west 901 886 872 855 834 814 803 795 791 789 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 653 645 637 625 612 601 594 591 589 587 
			 East midlands 529 524 521 514 504 498 493 490 488 488 
			 West midlands 701 694 687 675 661 650 645 641 641 640 
			 East 681 678 680 675 665 658 655 654 654 654 
			 London 959 961 955 945 931 924 922 924 932 942 
			 South-east 1,001 997 999 991 977 963 956 953 951 954 
			 South-west 582 578 576 571 563 557 553 550 547 546 
			
			 Wales 371 367 363 358 352 345 340 337 334 332 
			 Scotland 626 617 609 597 582 568 558 553 550 548 
			 Northern Ireland 253 250 246 243 238 234 232 229 229 229 
			
			  (c) Children aged 0-6 
			 United Kingdom 5,258 5,179 5,107 5,027 4,935 4,871 4,831 4,807 4,810 4,840 
			
			 England 4,396 4,333 4,277 4,216 4,140 4,090 4,062 4,046 4,053 4,083 
			 North-east 224 218 211 205 200 196 193 191 190 191 
			 North-west 619 604 588 576 563 554 548 543 543 545 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 451 442 433 424 416 410 405 403 403 405 
			 East midlands 365 357 353 348 . 342 338 335 334 334 336 
			 West midlands 484 475 467 460 451 446 443 440 441 443 
			 East 473 469 468 464 456 451 449 448 449 451 
			 London 686 685 678 670 660 659 659 661 670 684 
			 South-east 695 689 687 680 669 659 655 654 653 657 
			 South-west 399 395 393 389 384 378 375 373 371 371 
			
			 Wales 255 250 246 242 239 234 231 228 226 226 
			 Scotland 434 425 415 404 393 385 379 376 375 375 
			 Northern Ireland 174 171 169 166 163 161 159 156 156 157 
			  Note: Figures may not add due to founding.  Sources: Office for National Statistics, General Register Office for Scotland and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: 2006-based national mid-year population projections for UK countries 2007-11 
			  Thousand 
			   2007  2008  2009  2010  2011 
			  (a) Children aged 0-11 
			 United Kingdom 8,482 8,529 8,581 8,662 8,761 
			 England 7,136 7,184 7,239 7,317 7,411 
			 Wales 403 403 402 403 406 
			 Scotland 665 664 663 663 665 
			 Northern Ireland 278 278 278 279 280 
			   
			  (b) Children aged 0-9 
			 United Kingdom 7,022 7,082 7,166 7,279 7,413 
			 England 5,916 5,975 6,055 6,160 6,283 
			 Wales 330 330 332 335 339 
			 Scotland 547 547 548 552 557 
			 Northern Ireland 229 229 230 232 235 
			   
			  (c) Children aged 0-6 
			 United Kingdom 4,928 5,036 5,155 5,264 5,354 
			 England 4,164 4,262 4,369 4,466 4,547 
			 Wales 227 230 234 239 242 
			 Scotland 379 383 389 394 397 
			 Northern Ireland 159 161 163 166 168 
			  Note: Figures may not add due to rounding.  Source: Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: 2004-based subnational mid-year population projections by English regions 2007-11 
			  Thousand 
			   2007  2008  2009  2010  2011 
			  (a) Children aged 0-11 
			 North-east 334 331 328 326 325 
			 North-west 952 948 941 939 938 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 711 709 707 707 708 
			 East midlands 594 593 591 591 591 
			 West midlands 770 768 764 762 762 
			 East 794 794 793 793 795 
			 London 1,112 1,117 1,120 1,126 1,133 
			 South-east 1,149 1,146 1,143 1,141 1,141 
			 South-west 664 662 658 656 654 
			   
			  (b) Children aged 0-9 
			 North-east 274 272 271 271 271 
			 North-west 783 781 780 780 784 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 586 585 586 589 594 
			 East midlands 488 488 488 490 493 
			 West midlands 636 634 634 635 638 
			 East 655 655 656 660 664 
			 London 942 947 955 964 975 
			 South-east 948 946 945 947 951 
			 South-west 543 541 539 539 541 
			   
			  (c) Children aged 0-6 
			 North-east 190 190 191 191 190 
			 North-west 545 548 551 552 550 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 408 412 416 419 419 
			 East midlands 338 340 343 345 345 
			 West midlands 443 446 449 450 449 
			 East 455 459 463 465 466 
			 London 687 698 706 711 712 
			 South-east 657 660 665 668 667 
			 South-west 371 372 375 376 376 
			 Source: Office for National Statistics

Physical Education: Standards

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidance provided to school sports partnerships on what constitutes high quality physical education and sport;
	(2)  what definition of high quality physical education and sport he uses in relation to schoolchildren;
	(3)  what percentage of school children participate in two hours of sport during curriculum time;
	(4)  what the average time spent by school children on sport during curriculum time was in each of the last five years.

Kevin Brennan: The annual PE and School Sport Survey was introduced in 2003/04 and collects data relating to participation in PE and school sport. Over the last four years, pupils in School Sport Partnership schools spent the following average curriculum times on PE in a typical week:
	
		
			   minutes 
			 2003/04 103 
			 2004/05 107 
			 2005/06 111 
			 2006/07 115 
		
	
	In 2006/07, 70 per cent. of the pupils received two hours of curriculum PE in a typical week.
	The annual PE and School Sport Survey is accompanied by guidance to support the completion of the questionnaire. The definition of high quality PE and out of hours school sport is:
	this produces young people with the skills, understanding, desire and commitment to continue to improve and achieve in a range of PE, sport and health-enhancing physical activities, in line with their abilities, as set out in the 'High Quality PE and Sport for Young People' guide
	Copies of the guide 'High Quality PE and Sport for Young People' have been placed in the House Libraries.

Press

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the cost of the press offices of  (a) his Department,  (b) its agencies and  (c) its non-departmental public bodies were in each year since 1996-97; what the cost was in each quarter since 1 April 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The Department for Children Schools and Families was established in June 2007. We are therefore unable to provide costs prior to April 2007. Information for the current financial year is not yet available.
	  (b) The Department does not have any agencies.
	 (c) We do not hold costs for our non-departmental public bodies.

Schools: Sports

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which projects have received funding from the Sports Champions Mentoring Programme; and what criteria are being used to assess the effectiveness of this programme.

Kevin Brennan: The information is as follows:
	 Sporting Champions
	Sport England provides £300,000 per year to fund "Sporting Champions" an initiative which brings world-class athletes face-to-face with young people to inspire and motivate them to participate in sport.
	The scheme provides around 450 visits per year to community organisations and schools free of charge.
	Evaluation for this work is undertaken by the Sporting Champion and the host organisation after each visit. Longer term impact studies are also undertaken with a sample of visits.
	 Respect Athlete Mentoring Programme
	Between 2005/06 and 2007/08 the Department for Culture Media and Sport has provided over £650,000 to fund the Respect Athlete Mentoring Programme (RAMP). The programme is delivered jointly by Sport England (through its delivery agent, Creating Excellence) and the Youth Sport Trust.
	RAMP uses elite sports people to mentor young people within deprived areas who are at risk of social exclusion.
	The project uses a computer-based data collection programme to collect a range of statistics about the behaviours and attitudes of the young people involved. This is backed up by continuous dialogue and feedback from the mentor.

Special Educational Needs

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children  (a) were classified as having special educational needs,  (b) were given a statement of special educational needs and  (c) were classified as having emotional and behavioural difficulties, in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: The number of pupils with special educational needs in the last five years in all schools can be found in table 1a (with statements) and 1b (without statements) of the Statistical First Release 'Special Educational Needs in England, January 2007' available at:
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000732/index.shtml.
	Further information on earlier years can be found in table la and 1b of the Statistical Bulletin 'Special Education Needs In England, January 2002', available at:
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SBU/b000367/index.shtml.
	The number of maintained mainstream school pupils for whom statements were newly made for the years 1997 to 2006 can be found in the following table.
	
		
			Placement in maintained mainstream schools( 1,2) 
			  Year  Number of children for whom statements were newly made  Number  Percentage 
			 2006 22,600 15,660 69.3 
			 2005 24,040 17,380 72.3 
			 2004 25,990 19,050 73.3 
			 2003 28,780 21,330 74.1 
			 2002 30,720 23,350 76.0 
			 2001 32,470 24,790 76.3 
			 2000 33,750 25,510 75.6 
			 1999 35,420 26,330 74.3 
			 1998 36,180 26,780 74.0 
			 1997 35,650 25,140 70.5 
			 (1) Includes resourced provision/units/special classes in maintained mainstream schools. (2) Includes SEN units in maintained mainstream schools.  Source:  SEN 2 Survey 
		
	
	The number and percentage (from those at School Action Plus or with a statement of SEN) of pupils in maintained primary and secondary schools and all special schools classified as behavioural, emotional and social difficulties as a primary need from 2004-07 can be found in the following table.
	
		
			   Total 
			   Number  Percentage of those at School Action Plus or with a statement of SEN 
			 2007 139,310 22.2 
			 2006 134,800 21.9 
			 2005 128,130 21.4 
			 2004 126,890 21.6 
			  Source: School Census 
		
	
	Data on type of need was not collected prior to 2004.

Young People: Research

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he plans to publish the Next Steps component of the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England.

Jim Knight: holding answer 19 March 2008
	Next Steps is the term by which its participants know the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE).
	Provisional data for LSYPE interviews conducted in 2004 (wave l) was available in October 2006. Revised data from this first wave of interviews was available in October 2007. Provisional data for 2005 (wave 2) was available in January 2008. This did not include some complex elements of the data, for instance on income and benefits. Revised data from wave 2, (which is expected to include information about income and benefits), and provisional data from wave 3 is due to be available later this month.
	Data sets from LSYPE, are released to researchers through a website maintained by the Economic and Social Data Service: http://www.esds.ac.uk/longitudinal/access/lsype/L5545.asp. The data sets are usually available on the website about six weeks after they become available for analysis in the Department.
	An official, statistical publication, covering the first four waves of the study, will be announced as part of the schedule of official publications later this month.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he has taken to reduce his Department's carbon dioxide emissions in 2008-09.

Jonathan R Shaw: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs can confirm that DEFRA is working in partnership with the Carbon Trust and industry experts to deliver carbon emissions reductions. A number of initiatives are currently being implemented through its carbon management and energy efficiency programmes. DEFRA is the first Government Department to receive energy efficiency accreditation for its core and executive agency estate.
	Through site level benchmarking, monitoring and targeting of energy consumption, DEFRA has built up a site by site data set of its energy use and has identified opportunities for significant carbon reductions across its network estate over the next three years.
	Initiatives already undertaken include: installation of voltage optimisation technologies (powerPerfector(TM)); energy efficient lighting technologies; insulation and draught proofing and feasibility studies for renewable energy technologies. A fully costed investment programme has been agreed to enable savings to be delivered that are required to meet cross-Government sustainability targets (2010 and 2020).

Departmental Data Protection

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether confidential or personal information has been compromised through the loss of property from his Department since 1997.

Jonathan R Shaw: Except in exceptional cases, when it is in the public interest, it has been the policy of successive governments not to comment on breaches of security. However, following the publication of the Data Handling Procedures in Government: Interim Progress Report on 17 December 2007,  Official Report , column 98WS, all Departments will cover information assurance issues in their annual reports.

Dogs

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many charges have been brought against owners of dogs that attacked postmen in each of the last three years; and how many prosecutions were successful.

Jonathan R Shaw: The information requested is not held by DEFRA or the Ministry of Justice.
	Data from the court proceedings database held by the Ministry of Justice is unable to separately identify details of the victims of crime, as this level of detail is not held on their database, unless it is specified in either the statute or offence description.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme: Expenditure

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent on administration of the Warm Front grant scheme by  (a) the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,  (b) EAGA plc and  (c) local authorities in (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2004-05, (iii) 2005-06, (iv) 2006-07 and (v) 2007-08.

Phil Woolas: Warm Front is administered by eaga plc, as part of their contracted duties as Scheme Manager.
	The costs incurred by eaga in performing this administration are commercially sensitive, and therefore cannot be provided.
	DEFRA does not hold information on the value of any administrative costs spent by local authorities on Warm Front.

Belize-Guatemala: Border Dispute

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the statement on the border dispute between Belize and Guatemala; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: UK policy is to reduce the likelihood of conflict on the Belize-Guatemala border and to encourage settlement of the dispute through arbitration or negotiation.
	We do this through our contacts with both governments and by supporting confidence building measures, designed to reduce the potential for conflict. These aim to improve links between the two countries and by providing impartial investigation and mediation of border incursions and other incidents.

Admiralty House

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what expenditure his Department has incurred on the ministerial flat in Admiralty House occupied by the right hon. Member for Ashfield since he vacated the property.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has incurred no expense on the ministerial flat occupied by my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Mr. Hoon) since he moved out of Admiralty House on 30 June 2006.

EC Institutions: Accountancy

Richard Shepherd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons the official auditors have failed to approve the accounts of the European Union in recent years; for how long these refusals have been applied; and what steps are being taken by the EU to change its practices so that the accounts can be approved.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 18 March 2008
	As my right hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Jane Kennedy) set out on 28 January in the annual debate on the European Court of Auditor's (ECA) report into the EU's finances, since 1994 the ECA has been required to provide a
	"declaration of assurance"
	on the EU's accounts. Since that date this has not been possible. Much of the ECA's difficulty in giving a positive statement of assurance arises from those areas of spending, which are jointly managed by the European Commission and member states, amounting to almost 80 per cent. of EU budget spending in 2006. Improvements have been made in recent years.
	This Government are determined to ensure that EU funds are always used properly and efficiently. The UK is one of four member states, along with the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, that has proactively increased national audit requirements on EU spending and parliamentary scrutiny. The UK will be publishing its first consolidated statement and audit opinion in the spring, in respect of 2006-07.
	A number of measures have been taken to improve the planning, management and control of the EU's budget. This includes a new financial regulation setting out rules for spending and the implementation of the Commission's Action Plan towards an Integrated Internal Control Framework. The 2008-09 EU budget review will be an important opportunity to look again at the accounting and financial management framework of the EU's budget to ensure stronger financial management.

Gaza: Hamas

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions  (a) he,  (b) Ministers and  (c) officials in his Department have had with (i) Arab states and (ii) the government of Israel on (A) the compliance of Hamas with international law in Gaza and (B) the use by Hamas of human shields in Gaza; what response was received from each; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, I and Foreign and Commonwealth officials regularly discuss issues connected with the Middle East Peace Process with counterparts and senior government figures and officials in the region. The Government have made their position on Hamas, its policies and its activities clear. The international community continues to urge Hamas to renounce violence, recognise Israel and accept existing agreements and obligations, including the Roadmap. As such, Hamas compliance with international law has not been part of the discussions.

Malta: Health Services

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions  (a) he,  (b) Ministers in his Department and  (c) officials have had with the governments of (i) Malta and (ii) Poland on their dissent from the line adopted by the European Union on reproductive health at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women meeting in New York; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers have had no direct contact with their Maltese and Polish counterparts during the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) meeting in New York. During the CSW UK officials spoke alongside a number of other EU partners to defend language that has previously been agreed by the EU on sexual and reproductive health rights.